Overflow mechanism for chutes



May 29, 11923.

- 1,456,545 H M. GLEASON OVERFLOW MECHANISM FOR CHUTES Filed July 21, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 29, 1923. 1,456,545

H. M. GLEASON OVERFLOW MECHANISM FOR CHUTES Filed July 21, 1922 HENRY I15. GLEASUN, GE WATERBUEY, CCNNECTICUT, ASSIGNGB TO CHASE COMPANIES,

OF VVATER-BURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

' OVERFLOW MECHANISM FOR OH'UTES.

Application filed July 21, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HENRY M. GLEAsON, a citizen of the United States, residing at i ."aterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Overflow Mechanisms for Chutes; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, inj Fig. l. a broken view, in side elevation, of a machine for carding safety-pins, provided with my improved chutes.

Fig. 2 an enlarged sectional view thereof on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 a corresponding view on the line 0 I o3 of lug. 1.

Fig. 4 a view in longitudinal vertical section of one of the chutes, showing the nor mal or feeding position of its overflow e F 1g. 5 a corresponding view, showing the overflow gate in its overflow or discharging position. I

Fig. 6 a detached perspective view of the gates.

My invention relates to an improvement in chutes primarily designed for use in machines for carding safety-pins, but also available for use in other situations in which it is desirable to prevent the backing up of the articles being handled, due to the failure. from whatever cause, of the machine to which they are being delivered, to receive and handle them, the object of my invention being to provide a simple and reliable chute having an automatic overflow function, whereby backing up and its attendant train of problems is avoided.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a chute provided with a gate over which the objects carried are normally ,fed and which rocks todischarge them by gravity when their predecessors back up be 0nd a predetermined limit.

v invention further consists in an overflow device for chutes, having certain cletails of construction as will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention, as herein Serial No. 576,487.

shown, it is applied to a machine for carding safety-pins. This machine has twelve chutes, but since all are alike, the description of one will sufi'ice for all. As herein shown, then, I employ a narrow gate 10 somewhat longer than the safety-pins 11 and adapted in length and width to close a narrow discharge-opening 12 formed in the'bottom of the chute 13, which is provided at a point adjacent to the lower end of the said opening with two downwardly pro- Jecting lugs 14 receiving the ends of a pivot 15 passing through a transverse rib 16 formed at the lower end of the gate upon the lower face thereof. As thus constructed, the gate normally forms a continuation of the bottom of the chute, and the pins ride over it, as over any portion of the bottom of the chute. At its lower end the gate is provided with a tripping-arm 17 corre'spondingto it in width and approximately corresponding to it in length, but upwardly inclined at an obtuse angle, so as to rise within the chute in the path of the pins, as they travel through it, the normal or feed ing positions of the said gate and arm being shown in Fig. at. As shown, the arm 17, when depressed by the passage through the chute of a pin, temporarily enters a clearance-slot 18 formed in the chute and virtually consisting ofan extension of the discharge-opening 12 thereof. As thus constructed, the arm'17 also functions as a part of the floor of the chute each time the device is tripped, which will be as often as a pin is fed over it and into that portion of the chute lying below the device. For maintaining the gate 10 in its normal or feeding position, it is made enough heavier than its arm 17 to have the effect of being counterweighted, though the same elfect could be secured by employing a light spring to hold it in its normal position. The employment of such a spring is too obvious to call for illustration or further description.

The weight of the gate and its trippingarm will be adjusted to the weight of the safety-pins, or whatever the articlesbeing fed may be, so that, when they descend through the chute, they will engage with the tripping-arm of the gate and depress and pass the same, the gate being meanwhile idly lifted into its overflow position in which the discharge-opening 12 is opened, but the instant the article passes over the overflow slot 12 open.

arm 17, the weight of the gate restores it to its normal position, in time to close the discharge-opening and provide a surface, for the next succeeding article to ride over, preparatory to impingement against .the tripping-arm. The gate will, in this way, be idly operated by every safety-pin or other article descending through the chute.

In case, however, the articles are not fed out of the chute with predetermined promptitude, and back up therein, the gate will immediately begin to perform its safety or overflow function of discharging the incoming pins from the chute, Fig. 4 illustrates' such a.backing up incident, upper pin 19 (Fig. 4:), having for some reason or other, no matter what, been delayed in its transit through the chute, backs up therein. In other words, it does not get out of the way of the next succeeding pin 19*, which engages with it, as shown in Fig. 5. The pin 19, therefore, prevents thepin 19 from riding over the tripping-arm 17 and thus, in effect, locks the gate in its elevated or overflow position, in which it leaves the As long as the gate remains in this position, the pins fed downward through the chute, will be discharged therefrom and caught in the receptacle 20, into which they are deflected by the fender 21. The moment, however, that the pins be-.

gin to be fed out of the lower end of the chute, the pin 19- will descend therein and make way for the descent therein for the pin 19 which, when it rides over the tripping-arm 1 7 of the gate, will permit the same to be automatically restored into its normal position of closing the discharge-opening, whereby the overflow or safety function of the gate will be suspended. Thereafter, the gate will be operated idly by every descending pin, but will. not permit any pin to be discharged from the chute until it is again held open in the manner described by the backing up of pins in the lower end of the chute, in such a manner as to prevent the regular clearance of the tripping-arm of p the gate. Without my improved gate, the

pins would, as will readily be understood, be stacked up throughout the entire length of thechute, resulting in their accumulation in a mass at the inlet thereof and endangering the breakage of the selecting mechanism employed or the deformation of the articles themselves, depending upon the characterof such mechanism and the character of the articles. i

As shown, all of the chutes are closed by a The.

plate or cover 22 and discharge into. a carding mechanismv generally designated by the numeral 23 and mounted upon a bracket 24 secured to the bench 25'upon which. the boX2O for the reception of the overflow'pins is located.

While my improved chute was primarily designed for use in conjunction with ma chines for carding safety-pins, as stated, it p ing an automatic overflow device to prevent the backing up of the articles being fed through the chute.

I claim: i 1. A chute having an overflow-opening, and a gate normally closing the'said opening and furnished with a tripping-armnor mally intersecting the path of travel through the chute.

2. A chute having an overflow-opening in its bottom, and an overflow gate therefor, the said gate having a tripping-arm normally intersecting the path of travel through the chute, and engaged, when backing up occurs, by the articles being fed through the chute, to hold the gate open,

3. The combination with a chute having an overflow-opening in its bottom, of a piv otally mounted overflow gate normally dosing the said opening and having a tripping arm normally intersecting the path of travel through the chute.

l. The combination with a chute having an overflow-opening in its bottom, of a counterweighted gate 'pivotally mounted so as to normally close the said opening and provided with an operating member rising ing witnesses.

' HENRY M. GLEASON. Withesses MALCOLM P. NICHOLS,

GEORGE D. SEYMOUR. 

